Friday, December 27, 2013

"PASS" is the word

The Doctor was depressed. For over more than 6 months he couldn't get a substitute to replace him in the clinic. Oh, how badly he needed a vacation...

One day an ad caught his eye in the Bridge magazine: "Last chance! A Bridge cruise to Iceland and the Norwegian fjords! Book now!" That was it. He decided he MUST go on that cruise or he'll fall apart right there. So he ran down one floor and knocked at his neighbor's door:
"I am going on a Bridge cruise tomorrow, and you are going to replace me in the clinic!"
"But... But I am not a doctor. I am a complete Nothing, I didn't even manage to finish high school. How can I possibly replace you at the clinic?", asked the astonished neighbor.
"Listen up! I am going to tell you a little secret. Being a doctor is the easiest profession on earth. Whoever comes to visit you - Just PASS them to another doctor. For example: If someone complains about his ears - PASS him to an ear doctor. If a pregnant woman enters the door - PASS her to a gynecologist. If someone has bones problems - PASS to an orthopedist, etc. Got it?!" and without even waiting for an answer he went home to pack, leaving the puzzled neighbor standing by his door speechless.

And so the doctor left. The cruise was great! Exactly what he needed. The Bridge was great too, and on the last session, he was the only one to make a grand slam!

Dealer North, N-S vulnerable

*New minor forcing ; ** 0 or 3 Key cards (out of 5)

No PASS, no hesitation before reaching the grand slam. West lead the ♠10. Most players won the lead, drew 4 rounds of trumps and tested the clubs. When clubs turned out to be 4-2, they tried the diamond finesse, intending to throw the club loser on the A. But the finesse failed and they went 1 down.

Others played only 2 rounds of trump and then tried 3 top clubs: If clubs were 3-3, they would pull 2 more rounds of trumps and take that last club but if East had 4 clubs – They could try to ruff the last club in dummy. That did not work either, as East ruffed the 3rd round of clubs and down they went.

So how did our doctor made it?

Dear readers, try it out yourself, before reading the solution.

After winning the 1st trick with the ♠A, the doctor drew 2 high trumps from hand. Then he continued with the ♠KQ, throwing a club (!) from dummy. Then he played ♣AK and ruffed a low club with the K. Back to hand with the A and a diamond ruff, then 2 more rounds of heart, to pull out East's last trumps and the ♣Q is high. Great play!

On the flight back he thought a lot about the beautiful places he saw. And he thought some more about the great Bridge he played (especially that grand slam)... And a little bit about his clinic and his neighbor. When he finally came home, he went to the clinic to see how things were.

"Oh doctor, it was exactly as you said. The easiest profession on earth. I PASSED everyone who showed up to other doctors and there were no problems. Only one thing happened yesterday, and I'm not sure I did the right thing there", said the neighbor.
"What happened yesterday?", asked the doctor, not too concerned.
"Well, this lady came, and without saying what her problem was, she took off all her clothes, laid on the bed and said: "Dear doctor, I haven't seen a man in 2 months..."
"So, what did you do?", asked the doctor as his curiosity went up.
"Well, she said hasn't seen in two months... so I PASSED her to an eye doctor..."

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